Agnosian Xenocide
The Agnosian Xenocide was a war occurring in 13 NE resulting from an attempted Shayan colonization of the planet Agnes. After initial Shayan colonization efforts encountered resistance from the native Agnosians the war escalated and became one of attempted extermination of the Agnosian species. This, in turn, resulted in Ishii intervention in the war with the intent to stop the on-going xenocide. The Xenocide was concluded by the Treaty of Agnes. Origins Shay had been attempting to undergo a period of renewed expansion and had thus begun to expand their borders through new colonization efforts under the “Expansive Progress” plan. These efforts were spear-headed by the Shayan exploration ship ‘’GSS Dekhna’’, the Shayan government having chosen to forego the use of publicly available star charts marking inhabitable and uninhabited worlds for reasons that have never been disclosed to the public or the international community. On May 31, 13 NE ‘’GSS Dekhna’’ discovered the planet Shayan Bedi, Roman Shay, named “Agnes”, after his wife. As part of the “Expansive Progress” plan Agnes was almost immediately slated for settlement by almost 870 million Shayan citizens before any real study of the planet had been conducted. The War First Contact, First Conflicts It was only after announcing that Agnes was slated for Shayan colonization that Shay chose to reconnoiter the planet. For reasons that have remain classified by the Shayan government and military Shay refrained from scanning and observing the planet in detail from orbit and instead deployed seventy-five soldiers to patrol part of the world. It was not long before the native Agnosian populace was encountered by the patrol. The first meeting between Shayans and Agnosians erupted in violence, resulting in one Shayan soldier being killed, five more being wounded, and over fifty-two of the approximately two hundred Agnosians present being killed, with far more injured, before the Shayans returned to their base of operations. Following this incident Bedi Roman Shay issued direct orders to begin “massive” military operations on Agnes with the stated purpose of “avenging the killing of the (Shayan) soldier”. Shay also finally began wide-spread orbital observation of Agnes revealing that, far from being uninhabited, there were as many as 1.2 billion Agnosians living in settlements all over Agnes. Some particularly prophetic Shayan reporters began reporting possible acts of xenocide on Agnes following the revelation of the existence of an intelligent species on Agnes, though the Shayan government publicly refuted any such accusations. Shayan General Mansoor Bediel was quick to state that although retaliatory operations were planned there was no intent to eliminate the Agnosian species. In a series of escalations, Shay began setting up Bases 1-10 on Agnes and accepted the offer of military assistance put forth by Nalydya and Denma. A massive troop surge was initiated as thousands of Denman, Nalydian and Shayan soldiers were deployed to Agnes. The Xenocide Begins The first aggressive Shayan operations were undertaken as Shayan orbital assets began a bombing campaign against Agnosian settlements, starting with the massacre of hundreds in one Agnosian settlement near Shay’s Base 5 installation. Along with so-called “capture” operations the various Denman, Nalydian, and Shayan forces launched the first offensive operations against Agnosian settlements near the expanding Shayan zone of control. It was at this time that Shayan officers communicated to allied forces operating near Base 3 that “all Agnosians are hostile”. Fall of Base 2 Initial Agnosian resistance to the Shayan, Nalydian, and Denman was minimal and largely ineffective. The Agnosians were incapable of achieving much more than limited guerrilla actions against small groups of isolated Shayan patrols. The first effective resistance was at Shay’s Base 2. 7,000 Agnosians, displaying a level of sophistication and organization, effectively launched a surprise attack on Base 2 and its garrison of 3,500 Shayan soldiers. While they had no response to the Shayan long-range weapons, the Agnosians endeavored to and succeeded in rapidly closed the distance between themselves and the Shayans. In close quarters and with the weight of numbers and the advantage of surprise the Agnosians managed to overwhelm the Shayan garrison, killing over one hundred soldiers. Agnosian casualties were never estimated, but are believed to have been heavy. Agnosian Settlement Massacre ”Settlement has been cleansed.” --Shayan officer Following the Fall of Base 2 2,500 Shayan soldiers supported by artillery marched on an Agnosian settlement of several hundred. Possibly because many of the local Agnosians fit for any sort of combat had been drawn into the massed assault at Base 2, Agnosian defense of the settlement showed none of the resolve and organization that had been demonstrated at Base 2. Instead the Agnosians almost immediately attempted to surrender after only a dozen Agnosians were slain. Shay took control of the settlement and ordered the remaining 600 Agnosians of all ages to form organized lines. After the Agnosians complied, the Shayans opened fire, systematically executing all 600 Agnosians. Ishii Intervention ” You will take your unit, and proceed to Agnes. And you heard the message. Total. Elimination." --Arreian syn’Veinar The incidents on Agnes had hardly gone without notice. Ish’Cong’s Internal Information Advisory had preliminary investigations of the situation on Agnes underway and data had been gathered using low priority LISN observations and other, more discrete, means. Aware of the enormity of the developing situation and the inherently sensitive nature thereof, the Xi’sha was briefed in a private meeting. Many of his advisors rejected any notions of hesitation and advocated immediate and decisive action. Diplomatic action was briefly discussed as an alternative, but all agreed that the obvious and reckless disregard for life displayed by the Shayans would doom any such attempts, eliminate the opportunity to surprise the Shayan forces on Agnes, and provide Shay with time needed to continue the xenocide. It was decided that if action was to be taken, diplomatic efforts should follow a forceful eviction of Shay. The Xi’sha, however, was inclined towards caution and ordered the IIA to gather more evidence so that the inevitable Ishii accusations of xenocide would be beyond ironclad. He also ordered Arreian syn’Veinar to bring a fleet not already committed elsewhere to battle readiness. syn’Veinar chose Emon syn’Suriss’ fleet, which was rapidly brought to full readiness under the auspices of mobilizing to join the on-going war with the USSR. Even as syn’Suriss was assembling his fleet, the IIA had taken the next step in establishing and assembling definitive proof of the xenocide occurring on Agnes. Probes were deployed to Agnes, making use of active scans to gather information on the system, the planet, and the various combatants. Shay detected the Ishii probes, and began communicating with the Ishii, informing the IIA of their desire to cleanse the planet. The IIA, under the guise of Ishii willingness to help Shay, posed clarifying questions to the Shayans and successfully elicited a confession that the Shayans intended the “total elimination” of the Agnosian species. This, along with the earlier scans of the planet which had revealed certain actions taken by the combatants thus far, including the Agnosian Settlement Massacre, was being reported to the Xi’sha’s offices as it was uncovered. Finally the Xi’sha decided that they had enough evidence, and gave the order to commence Operation Compelled Witness in the Agnes system to stop the xenocide. In keeping with Ishii doctrinal procedures, Emon syn’Suriss’ opening move was quick and intended to be decisive. FTLi was thrown up all around Agnes to prevent enemy forces from summoning reinforcements and syn’Suriss’ fleet exited from FTL already firing on Shayan orbital assets. Shayan space assets were neutralized in the opening volleys, having been caught completely off-guard and facing far superior forces. The Ishii then proceeded to easily eliminate Shay’s anti-orbital ground assets before shifting their fire onto other ground formations, bases, and installations causing heavy losses among the Shayan units. Notably, no Denman or Nalydian assets were targeted as the Xi’sha felt that there was insufficient evidence that either party had committed or was committed to xenocidal actions against the Agnosians, though some units were suffered collateral damage from the Ishii attack on the Shayans. Despite a short, and desperate, surge in the Shayan offensives against the Agnosians, Shayan forces soon realized their strategic situation was untenable and ceased their offensives. Furthermore, both Denma and Nalydya had ceased their operations on Agnes upon realizing Shay’s forces had effectively ceased being combat effective. As such, Operation Compelled Witness effectively brought an end to the Agnosian Xenocide and was an overwhelming success. Stand-off Simultaneously with Operation Compelled Witness the Xi’sha made a public address to the nation and the international community concerning Agnes. It included evidence of Shay’s actions and intents on Agnes regarding the Agnosian species and explained why Ish’Cong had intervened to stop Shay. Other nations soon began to take an interest in the events of the Agnosian Xenocide. Most, such as the GRA, UPC, UPT, Stonewall Federation and the USA, criticized the Shayan xenocide or else stated their support for the decisive and effective action taken by Ish’Cong to end the violence. Ingen, the Katasian Ryk, and Trekylon criticized the Ishii for various reasons. Ystovia and Inuyashia criticized both nations for their part in the war. Other powers reacted in various ways, calmly observing the situation, offering to mediate a peace, or else investigating everything that had happened to ascertain the truth. The result was a great deal of political controversy and commentary from nations all across the universe. This led to something of a radicalization of initial opinions over time, in no small part due to a combination of diplomatic blunders, various fleet surges and movements around Agnes, and mud-slinging by social commentators. The Laptev Axis and aligned nations gradually began to focus more on their criticisms of Ish’Cong, displaying an ever increasing disregard for the Shayan xenocide and the Agnosian lives lost. Conversely, members of the Barlat Concordiat and other affiliated powers continued to point out that Operation Compelled Witness was a complete success and that decisive action taken to stop xenocide was justified. It would not be until the Barlat-Laptev War that the full ramifications of these events would be realized. Conclusion Amidst the controversies, attempts by Shay and Ish’Cong to negotiate a final peace treaty following the official withdrawal of all Shayan, Denman, and Nalydyan forces from the planet of Agnes eventually fell into the background. Nonetheless, negotiations did continue and although Shay initially attempted to stall, ultimately accepted Ishii terms culminating in the Treaty of Agnes. As part of the treaty, Shay agreed to remain outside the Agnes system, had to set aside funds for use as charitable donations to victims of genocide or xenocide, and to permit Shayan officers implicated in the xenocide to be tried in a neutral court mutually agreed upon by Shay and Ish’Cong. This officially marked the end of the war between Ish’Cong and Shay. Trial of the Shayan Officers The Shayan officers deemed to have contributed most to the Agnosian Xenocide were Khadir, Zia Uldin, Tehmoor and Aurelio. Both Shay and Ish’Cong agreed to hold the trial in an Alterran court with Alterran Chief Justice Dari Bru’ner presiding over and ruling on the case. The prosecution was to be represented by Kayre Lous of Ish’Cong with the Shayan Ted Ronson being the counsel for the defense. As the trial progressed it became clear that the case for the Shayan officers was very weak. Ish’Cong presented numerous pieces of physical evidence collected by the IIA and Ishii forces in the Agnes system including recordings and pictures of the Agnosian Settlement Massacre and recordings of the communications between the Ishii probes that first arrived in the system and the Shayan forces then present. In contrast, the defense presented a very faltering case. Ronson claimed at various times that no acts of xenocide had occurred, then changed his argument to state that the xenocide was necessary, then changed it back again. The Agnosians were simultaneously too dangerous to be left alive and yet presented no substantive threat to Shay or other nations and peoples. Attempts were made to side-track the court by bringing up alleged Ishii crimes, though Chief Justice Bru’ner ruled these statements irrelevant to the trial in question. Ultimately, the court found all four defendants guilty of all charges. However, in a show of mercy, the court sentenced the officers based on the lesser crimes of almost 1,000 counts of First Degree Murder, several thousand counts of Second Degree Murder, and Crimes Against the Native Species of Agnes. All four were discharged without honors and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.